Snow wrought
by shallowness
Summary: It's been snowing in Terminal City, Max asks Joshua to sculpt her something. Characters: Joshua, Max, Mole and Alec. Friendship. NEW Epilogue added.
1. Chapter 1

Suitable for all audiences. Genre: General, friendship, fluff.

Characters: Joshua, Max, Mole.

Summary: It's been snowing in Terminal City, Max asks Joshua to sculpt her something.

Notes: For henrikaamanda and her kitten eyes. Based on the generated drabble 'The Oblivious Terror of the Snow'. This takes place after the tie-in novels, but contains no major spoilers. With big thanks to lusmeilti and izabelevans for betaing, all the idiocies are my fault.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine and I make no profit from their use.

Snow-wrought: shallowness

"Hey, big fella, what's up?" Max's soft voice brought Joshua out of his reverie. He side-stepped to turn and look at her, standing in the door-frame of one of the old plants that made up Terminal City. He was just outside.

"Watching," he said, smiling a little nervously.

"Why aren't you out there?" He'd known she'd ask that, and he wanted to roll his eyes and sigh a little, but this was Max and he should explain. Try to.

"Not for me." It was settling, not explaining, and Max was crossing her arms and pouting a little, which meant that his explanation wasn't good enough.

"Why not, Joshua?" 'Out there' was a yard, ringed by buildings, usually their drill-area, where the snow of January 2022 had stuck, to be scooped up by Arctics and X-6s and 8s for a snow-fight that was faster and more accurate than any other taking place that day in Seattle. There was also the slight difference that every snowball thrown in this fight was probably toxic. But all these white flurries hitting their mark were shrugged off by the transgenics.

"The snow-fight looks like fun. We could-"

"No, Max. Not for Joshua, Max go, Joshua too-" he sighed.

"What? Too what?" she probed.

"Big. Strong. Get excited, forget." Max's face wasn't going along with it; she knew that everyone in the snow-fight was well able to take care of themselves. She trusted Joshua.

But his memory was taking him further back, to the basement, to seeing white stuff, a little like salt, but wet, for the first time, clinging to the bottom of Father's pants, and his shoes. Father had answered his questions, had taught him and Isaac that it was snow, and asked if they wanted to see more.

Father had taken them out, past the usual armed guards, out and up, and the ground and the trees had been covered with heavy whiteness. Snow.

Not waiting for instruction, Joshua and Isaac had bounded out, not caring that they were barefoot, or that there were watchful eyes and ready guns surrounding them, when what mattered was getting white and wet. Snowy. Isaac had grabbed some, Joshua had followed, and as he'd weighed the cold snow in his hand, packing it tight, Isaac had turned his handful into a missile…

"Whump," Max thought Joshua was copying the present-day snowballs. Wanting him out there, having fun, she decided to go for the sneaky approach.

"Okay, you don't have to go and do the snow-fight thing, but snow doesn't fall often in this city. I want you to make the most of it," she stepped to face him, so used to giving orders now. "Why don't you go make a sculpture?"

"Sculpture."

"Yeah, out of the snow."

Joshua did sigh at her then. He'd got that.

"Joshua paint, not sculpt."

Max grabbed his paw, and began leading him to a corner of the yard where the snow-fight hadn't yet reached, and there was an untouched drift.

"Well you can think of it as- as expanding your artistic horizons, Joshua. Working with a new material, finding where it takes you. Could lead to a whole new period."

"Max talk like Alec. Like Rita." Joshua's tone didn't make it sound like a good thing.

Having got her temperamental artist to his new studio, Max stood still, but didn't let his hand go, as she looked up into his eyes.

"Think of it as a favor for me. Sculpt something - surprise me. I'm sure it'll be great," and her smile was warm, and he knew it would be even wider, stunning, if he made her something, so Joshua nodded.

"Surprise," he said, letting the last syllable hang, a magician talking up his act.

Max nodded, let his hand go, to pick up her own scoop of snow, aiming at and getting Dalton, who she'd noticed had been dodging a lot of snowballs. Before the X-6 could retaliate, she blurred for the nearest entry point back inside.

Joshua had worked steadily, concentrating hard and fierce on what he was doing. The snow-fighters' shouts and energy was so much background static as he crouched and packed the snow, building up the sculpture. He was letting what he wanted flow out through his hands. It wasn't paint and an easel, but Max had been right, it was fun.

"Hey, icicles. Doughnuts and coffee at Gem's place!" The yell broke up the snow-fight - which, after all the tactical gains, the payback and the payback for the payback, was getting boring, even for the most enthusiastic X-8. The offer of a hot drink and sugary food was a good out.

Mole watched them stream past him, the kids and the pale Arctics who were the happiest he'd ever seen them. Weirdos. Jamming his cigar in his mouth, he went over to see Joshua, who'd ignored the news about food. Didn't happen often, so Mole was curious.

"Hey dog-boy, you go deaf when you're being creative, or something?" The question got Joshua to look up at Mole.

"Not deaf. Just nearly done." Joshua took his hands away from the sculpture, "I'll get snacks later."

"Yeah, you're nearly done," Mole's voice was rough, and months of working with him, letting the lizard guy in to become one of his closest friends made Joshua look more closely at him. The cigar wasn't being rolled around, and Mole stood as if he was at a drill.

"Mole not like snow cat? Think Max won't like it?"

"Uh, that's what you're calling her, huh? 'Snow cat'? Not 'Joshua number nine million and one'?"

"Different material. Answer the question."

"She- it looks like someone I knew is all. Real life-like." Both guys stared at the sculpture, a statue really. Joshua had based his snow cat on memories of the panther-like X-2s because he had thought Max would like it. He hadn't thought that the likeness would haunt others.

When Mole talked next, it was as gruffly as ever,

"If you're nearly done, I can go get Max. She's at Command, needs someone to relieve her."

"Alec, Dix and Luke not-"

"Nah, thought they'd get first in on the doughnuts," Mole did that impersonation of a grin of his. "Alec led the charge."

Joshua nodded,

"Yes, get Max."

He had been mostly done, and one or two little tweaks later, he was shuffling about the empty yard, following footsteps, waiting, listening. He had turned his back on his sculpture, done with it now, wanting Max's approval. Her reaction, anyway. And he was hoping for more than 'real life-like.' He wanted to see her smile.

He heard her brisk tread, and stood watching her come out into the yard, sunlit now - the sculpture would probably melt a little out of shape. Max's eyes adjusted quickly, she didn't squint like OC would have done, just looked.

And then the smile came, the one that he tried to replicate in his paintings but couldn't quite. Ever. She walked slowly towards his gift to her and he hovered behind her.

"This is beautiful," she said. "Joshua- when Mole said 'snow cat', I didn't really imagine-"

"Max like it?"

"I love it. It's a shame she'll melt. Thank you." And Max hugged him, stretching her strong arms around him. Looking over her head to the sculpture, Joshua didn't care that the snow would melt.

END

Notes (part 2): The extrapolation of Mole being the lizard guy referred to in 'Proof of Purchase' was borrowed from Valjean, because it seemed to fit here.

Feedback: Oh yes, do, please.


	2. Epilogue Still frame capture

Summary: _Joshua hadn't thought that the likeness would haunt others._

Notes: Epilogue to 'Snow-wrought'. With thanks to izabelevans for pointing out that I needed to write about Alec's reaction to the sculpture, and to her and lusmeilti for betaing this, all idiocies are mine.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine and I make no profit from their use.

Still freeze capture: shallowness

Max and Joshua burst into the warmth of Gem's place. The booths were mainly filled by their own kind, with one or two cops, looking more out of place than usual; the snow that had got the Arctics grinning had kept most of Seattle's streets quiet. Not like coffee central, where X-6s were still replaying spectacular dives and throws around the tables. None louder than,

"Dalton," Max greeted him, noticing that the X-6 had found a bunch of the opposite sex to play audience for him.

He raised his cup of coffer to her. Deciding not to stay there, Max and Joshua headed further back towards the counter, where there was a booth large enough to accommodate the command team and Gem, who was snuggling a sleepy daughter in her lap.

"Guarding the last of the doughnuts?" Max asked Alec and Luke - who were sitting on either side of baby and mother, with their backs to the empty counter - referring to the food that was still stocked up on the table in front of them.

"I'm working on being more responsible," answered Alec, watching Joshua grab some doughnuts and sink next to Dix.

Max didn't quite snort, and asked Gem more softly,

"Is there still coffee left?"

"Yea—"

"Sure, in the pot," Luke beat Gem to it, "I'll get it - want some, Josh?"

"Sure," Luke left them and Max took her perch, smiling with Gem.

"Huh, he never asked if any of us wanted more," Dix grumbled from his corner.

"Go tell him," Max replied, having to lean where normally she'd just have yelled, but there was a baby to mind.

Dix shrugged, mumbled,

"It's the principle," and sank back into his chair. Max wondered how seriously she or anyone was meant to take his bellyaching.

It was warm enough for her to take her jacket off, they had enough stocks to face all the promised snows, everyone apart from the desert guys were settled, it was all good.

"So where were you guys?" Alec asked, Josh had finished his first doughnut, though there were two more piled up right in front of him. No-one at the table was going to smack him for bad table manners. They all understood how little niceties mattered when a trannie was hungry.

"Sculpting," Josh said.

"Is that fancy talk for building a snowman?"

"Snow cat," Joshua told Alec, the pride softening his consonants. "For Max."

Sincerity trumps teasing, Max thought, it was mostly like that with Josh.

"And I love it," she flashed that bright smile, a currency she was less miserly with these days. "You guys should go look at it before everything melts."

"Maybe someone could take a picture, record it for posterity," Gem said, shifting her daughter slightly. Toddler transgenic bone-density was a pain sometimes, and there was no way she was risking waking her to go herself. "We could pin it up here, if that's okay, Josh."

Joshua nodded, apparently too busy making his doughnuts invisible to respond otherwise.

"So this work of art's a little snow kitty, then?" Alec asked, leaning Max-wards over the table.

"No-" Max turned away, hearing Luke approach, her nostrils flared, he was bringing her real coffee. All good had turned even better. "Hey Josh, you'd better get this down, warm you up."

Alec settled back in his chair as he rolled his eyes, which only Gem saw, as the others were concentrating on the coffee distribution. Gem nudged Alec with her foot, as he made a face that was meant to convey that Max was fussier of Joshua than Gem was of her own baby girl. Whether Gem got the message or not, she indicated with her head that he should go, mouthing 'take a picture.'

He got up, clambering back over the counter easily enough, and walking around, made sure that dogboy had swallowed his first sip, before tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Josh twisted his head to look up, and saw Alec fake taking a picture. Instead of flinching, Joshua grinned.

* * *

Later, Alec would apologize to Gem and the others about there being no picture of the sculpture for posterity, but he would offer them no real explanation for why he had taken none. The snow cat would become part of the snow-fight story: something that the fighters all claimed to have seen from the corner of their eyes.

* * *

He'd heard the enthusiasm in the coffee-soaked descriptions of what had gone down, now he saw the footsteps and rearranged snow for himself through a window in an old fire exit. Pushing the door open, he stepped out into the covered drill-yard, under onslaught from the sun. Some of the snow wouldn't last the afternoon, and the rest of it would be covered afresh soon enough. Either way, Joshua's work and the traces of the big fight would be lost.

Alec stopped walking a few steps into the enclosure, his right foot crunching heavily down as he saw he sculpture. He'd called it a little kitty, expecting something cartoonish, quickly done. Instead, this was a figure who slunk around his nastier dreams. This was his dark sister, captured in white…

He could hear the water running, the flick of the knife-blade coming out, feel it wrench deep into her back through fur and flesh, silencing the snarls, stopping her attack; he could hear the splashes as she tripped away until the body fell - gravity responsible for its last momentum. The water still ran. A dog barked, and he had to flick the knife out again, so that he could carve off her barcode.

He wondered if this snow cat had a barcode, if Joshua had carefully etched it out with his nails. Alec could imagine his friend's diligence as clear as Max's smile as she'd talked up the sculpture, Joshua's duck into another doughnut making his hair fall down and hide him from the compliments, the baby shifted up straighter by her mother, him catching the knife that White had thrown him. Easy.

Alec didn't walk any closer to the sculpture to check out that hunch. He breathed through his nose as he walked to Command instead. When he got there, he didn't ask Mole if he wanted to be relieved, seeing that he was sitting pretty, cleaning a gun, watching the monitors. Alec took communications, listening out for police and military chatter. It was a quiet shift.

END

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